The Lakewood-based foundation pledged the money for the museum’s Collections Conservation Center through a series of grants that will also fund long-term collections conservation.

The money is vital, since the Conservation Center will provide a climate-controlled gathering place for the Museum’s 1.4 million specimens and artifacts. It’s part of the larger Rocky Mountain Science Collections Center — itself a part of the Education and Collections Facility, a 126,000-square-foot addition to the museum that broke ground last September and is currently under construction on the east end of City Park.